Royal Gold Magistrate

Chapter 138 - Old Plays with a New Twist, Fan Jin Passes the Imperial Exam



On the way back, Zhang Biao was carrying several hundred taels of silver.

A group of petty officials followed behind him with long faces, originally fantasizing about getting a share of the silver, but unexpectedly there was no portion for them.

Fang Zheng, on the other hand, had a joyful expression. Things had progressed quite smoothly, all within expectations.

But Li Yuanzhao was unhappy, his face sullen and gloomy.

He was obviously dissatisfied with Fang Zheng’s approach.

He had thought they were going to weed out the strong and support the weak, engage in a fierce battle with a group of small-time gangsters. He didn’t expect that he would collude with them.

After returning to the yamen, Li Yuanzhao finally couldn’t help asking.

“Old Fang! Why did you do that? Those people clearly aren’t doing anything good.”

Fang Zheng smiled and pushed a package of silver on the table to Li Yuanzhao.

He explained, “Your Highness, don’t be hasty… Things have to be done step by step.”

“Those people can’t be eliminated for the time being. If we destroy one wave, it won’t be long before another wave appears, endlessly from generation to generation.”

“Your Highness can’t waste all your time playing guerrilla warfare with these people, right?”

“This minister naturally has his reasons for doing this. You see, if we gather them together, when they have absorbed all the other small fry, we can catch them all in one net.”

Li Yuanzhao’s brows relaxed, but he still felt a bit reluctant.

“Then how can you let them give silver to our people? Isn’t that collusion between officials and bandits? I don’t agree!”

Fang Zheng patiently explained, “Your Highness, this is the current situation.”

“It’s hard to change long-standing abuses. Everything has to be done step by step. After all, this minister doesn’t have a system!”

“What’s a system?”

“Uh… never mind that. What I mean is, if the water is too clear, there are no fish. If we really investigate strictly, who from top to bottom is clean except this minister?”

“If the situation really becomes serious, I’m afraid no one will be able to serve with peace of mind.”

“You see, it’s the same with your sanitation team. If you strictly require every team member to work diligently, it’s unrealistic. You have to give people room to slack off. Even if you don’t let them slack off, they will find opportunities to rest. If you push too hard, people will rebel!”

Li Yuanzhao rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

“You actually make a good point…”

“Also, this is a problem with the entire system. We don’t have the time or ability to reform it for now. Right now, Yan Guoan’s side is going strong. We need to hurry up and make money!”

With that, he passed another piece of paper to Li Yuanzhao.

“Your Highness, please look. This is the information this minister sent people to gather from Yan Guoan’s side. I heard that the commoners there are all praising Yan Guoan’s governance.”

Li Yuanzhao snatched the paper.

Widening his eyes, he carefully read, “Wow! He actually has some substance! I thought he only knew how to talk big! His reputation is even better than ours?”

Fang Zheng was also puzzled.

Could this dog be trying to engage in a public opinion battle with me? The investigation report sent back was full of commoners praising Yan Guoan’s governing achievements.

There were also many scholars vying to offer flattery.

The commoners in Banshan District had also heard about it. Many of them envied the commoners of Dengjin District, saying it was truly an honor to have such a top scholar personally governing the district.

Moreover, their lives had improved quite a bit, and they had some complaints about Banshan District.

Why didn’t they have scholars to praise them on their side? Did these dogs not see how well they had managed the street sanitation?!

No! If this continued, he might lose the battle of public opinion!

“Your Highness! Look at how well this dog is promoting himself. We can’t lose either! We need to think of a way!”

After reading the report, Li Yuanzhao seemed a bit depressed. “What’s there to think about? Didn’t you have Banshan Theater perform those plays praising Imperial Father every day? Tell me, what’s the use? Imperial Father won’t come to our place anyway.”

“In my opinion, it’s better to replace the protagonist with me!”

“And those vulgar, rustic plays! They should have been changed long ago!”

Fang Zheng smiled awkwardly. Our praises were sincere. How did it become flattery?

Besides, vulgar plays were just right for the commoners. Who would watch if they were too complicated?

After a day of farm work, don’t you want some raunchy jokes to let everyone relax?

You also watched “Fahai Beats Bai Suzhen” with gusto, didn’t you? Shallow!

“This… This minister has some ideas! Tomorrow, a new play! ‘Fan Jin Passes the Imperial Exam!’ Have the theater troupe go all out. Watch me tear off the hypocritical masks of those scholars!”

“What is ‘Fan Jin Passes the Imperial Exam’?”

“Oh, it’s a play this minister has watched. I’ve already had people arrange it. It will be performed tomorrow! Perform it for a few days!”

……………

Dramatizing “Fan Jin Passes the Imperial Exam” undoubtedly had great social value, with plenty of sharp satire.

Most importantly, Fang Zheng still remembered the text quite clearly. After some modifications, it could quickly be staged.

But compared to the raunchy jokes usually performed… the appeal was far too lacking…

So Fang Zheng personally took action again, displaying his design skills honed by modern education.

A brand new poster was born.

The main body of the poster depicted a young and handsome Fan Jin, surrounded by a group of beauties holding various gifts.

Beside it were written… “Wastrel Son-in-Law,” “Getting Rich Overnight,” “Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law,” “Chicken,” “Ecstasy until Fainting,” and other exciting words to attract onlookers.

Anyway, there was no messy supervision. Just paste it on the streets!

If Wu Jingzi knew, he would probably climb out of his coffin on the spot to take Fang Zheng away.

Of course, the vast majority of commoners were illiterate, but it shouldn’t be a problem after spreading by word of mouth.

After all, such an explosive promotional poster appeared for the first time in the Jing Dynasty!

Fang Zheng thought this could lure in those shameless scholars to take a look. After watching, would they still have the gall to endlessly sing Yan Guoan’s praises?

If the play became popular, would they still dare to blindly flatter him? Let’s see if the people ridicule them then!

More importantly, it could open the commoners’ eyes. The common people practically worshipped scholars, especially those who had passed the provincial or even imperial exams.

If you kicked them, they would praise you for kicking well. They wouldn’t dare have any other thoughts.

If they were oppressed for no reason, they would be unwilling to rise up and resist unless their lives were at stake.

Now, hearing those lower and higher-level scholars stupidly praise how wonderful Dengjin District was, the commoners naturally believed every word!

Fang Zheng didn’t believe it. No matter how capable Yan Guoan was, could he achieve such dramatic changes in such a short time?

Then wouldn’t his knowledge from his previous life and the hardships he suffered in this life all be for naught?

…….

As expected, within a day of the poster being posted on the streets, it caused a huge commotion.

Countless commoners spread it by word of mouth, pointing at the poster and forming their own plot lines in their minds based on the words that interested them.

“Oh my, a drama about ethics! It must be a drama about ethics! They can publicly perform this?”

“You’re thinking crookedly! It’s about a wastrel son-in-law getting rich overnight. I love watching that!”

“You’re both wrong. This one! It’s called ‘Family Affection Turns Sour’!”

“…… Hey! Fellow villager, what’s written on this?”

The scholars all turned red in the face, denouncing the impropriety on the spot! But some were also interested.

The one scolding the loudest in the crowd was a scholar surnamed Wu, but his friend beside him had a different opinion.

“Brother Wu, I’m actually a bit interested in this play. Anyway, it’s free. Why don’t we go and see?”

“Go! We must go! I’m going to harshly criticize it! This Banshan District is truly a place of demonic chaos. It has all sorts of nonsense.”

“The other day, I even saw those people from the sanitation team with similar pictures pasted on their backs.”

“With such improper customs, we scholars must criticize it on the spot!”

The surrounding commoners couldn’t help looking at the two scholars with disdain.

Brother Wu and his friend turned red in the face and couldn’t help fleeing in embarrassment.

…….

A bit later, the bonfire in Banshan Square was already lit.

The square was packed with people. Many small merchants and vendors were shouting themselves hoarse, trying to attract the attention of passersby.

At this point, the nightly bonfire party in Banshan Square had already become the best place for relaxation and entertainment for the entire district and even the surrounding districts.

On ordinary days, after the sun set, the commoners’ nightlife was basically zero.

Apart from sleeping, there wasn’t much else to do besides more work.

Being stuck with the same person every day was unbearable. After all, no one had money to spend on fun…

So Banshan Square naturally became the only choice for the commoners’ nightlife.

There were cheap snacks, it was crowded and lively, and there were free plays to watch. Who wouldn’t love it?

However, Banshan Square was even more lively tonight. After a day of warm-up, “Fan Jin Passes the Imperial Exam” was about to begin!

As the host took the stage, the audience below had already habitually learned to hold their breath.

If there were too many people and it was noisy, those in the back wouldn’t be able to hear clearly what was being said on stage, so they would start cursing.

If they cursed, those in front would follow along, and in the end, everyone would be cursing and no one could hear anything.

The host had a habitual fake smile and got straight to the point. “Alright! The new play ‘Fan Jin Passes the Imperial Exam’ that everyone has been eagerly anticipating is about to begin!”

With that, he immediately jumped off the stage.

After hosting for this period of time, along with the generous medical subsidies, the host had successfully developed the skills of having a poker face and not wasting words.

Getting straight to the point!

The perspective began with Butcher Hu carrying a large intestine and a bottle of wine, entering Fan Jin’s house.

Upon seeing Fan Jin, he said, “I’ve fallen on hard times, but I’m still marrying my precious daughter to a good-for-nothing like you…”

As the actors took the stage one by one, the expectant expressions on the faces of the commoners gradually changed.

This… This damn thing wasn’t what they expected! Where was the exciting plot they wanted?

Also, why was this Fan Jin so ugly and old? Could such a person become a distinguished scholar?

Although it wasn’t what they expected, no one was willing to move their feet.

Not to mention this was a rare new play, based on the principle of “since we’re already here,” no one wanted to leave.

As they watched, many commoners showed a look of sudden realization.

It turned out to be a play about family life, and the name of the play was “Fan Jin Passes the Imperial Exam,” which meant Fan Jin was a distinguished scholar.

They didn’t expect that a distinguished scholar, who appeared dignified in public, was like this before passing the exam. He seemed no different from ordinary commoners, with a messy life!

At his age, even if he passed the exam, how many years could he enjoy it?

The scholars in the audience felt a bit uneasy, but they also didn’t want to leave. They were obviously waiting for the part about passing the imperial exam.

Soon, as the plot on stage gradually progressed, it finally reached the climax when Fan Jin passed the imperial exam.

The “Fan Jin” on stage shouted, “Oh! Good! I passed!” Then his foot slipped, and he lay stiffly on the stage.

The faces of the scholars in the audience suddenly changed…


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